Buying a dSLR- Part 2
Last week we reviewed exactly what a dSLR is, and why you might want a photography system instead of a standard point-and-shoot digicam. If you missed last week's article, or you just need a little review, you can read it here: Buying a dSLR - Part I. Now we continue our journey exploring the photography system by looking at the roots of SLR photography, the similarities and differences between traditional SLR cameras and the newer digital SLR cameras (dSLRs), and some of the "buzz" words in the world of digital photography.
What about Film?
While the traditional film market is shrinking with the digital camera boom, there will always be a market for film cameras and are, therefore, worth taking a look at as well. Though traditional film SLR cameras and dSLRs actually have a lot of similarities, there are some differences as well. One of the features that made so many people receptive to the digital camera boom was the "Instant Satisfaction" factor - being able to see your photographs right after taking them, rather than waiting to have them developed. This alone gave digital cameras a huge, instant edge in the marketplace. Once digital cameras more or less "caught up" quality wise (we're not going to get into the film vs. digital debate here - maybe another time), professionals began making the switch from film to digital. Another reason the digital camera is so popular, is that there is almost $0 cost-per-shot. Now, instead of film, we can use reusable memory cards, and instead of printing each photo out, we can merely save them to a hard drive, CD, DVD and even upload them to the web for friends and family to see! 
In addition, with features like white balance and ISO sensitivity (that is changeable from shot to shot, rather than roll of film to roll of film), the dSLR is a lot more versatile than its film counterpart. Film SLRs do tend to be lighter, however, and are considerably cheaper than their dSLR cousins (usually less than a third of the price).
Several new "issues" were introduced to photographers with the induction of the dSLR as well. The first being higher battery consumption - dSLRs suck a lot of power, especially that LCD screen. It is important for a dSLR photographer to have battery back-ups, or a place and a way to quickly recharge batteries. The second "issue" that faces dSLR photographers that rarely caused problems for film SLR users is dust. Small, tiny little particles always seem to find their way inside your camera, especially since you can switch between lenses. These little dust particles will make their way to your sensor, and sit there, so that every photograph you take will have a little tiny dust speck on it (until you get it cleaned off, of course).
Sensors, Megapixels and Print Sizes
Without going into too much technical detail about different sensors, the megapixel craze, and print sizes, there are some basic things you should know before going out to shop for a camera (because you know these are the "buzz" words that you're going to hear about when buying a camera - better to know what everyone is talking about instead of just standing there, nodding your head, pretending like you understand).
Sensors
There are two different types of sensors: CCD (Charged-Couple Device - as shown on the left) & CMOS (Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor). What CCD and CMOS stand for isn't really important. All you really need to know is that CCD sensors are smaller, require more power, and are generally more expensive, typically giving a higher image quality pixel for pixel. CMOS sensors are larger, cheaper, and use less power than the CCD sensors, though frequently boast higher light sensitivity and quality. Both sensors, however, will always outshine their point-and-shoot cousins, as they are usually larger. For example, if you compare an 8-megapixel dSLR to an 8-megapixel point-and-shoot digicam, the pixels on the larger dSLR sensor will be made larger, resulting in lower "noise" on your photos.
Megapixels
If there's a "buzz" word in the camera industry, this is it: megapixels. 
10 megapixels this versus 8 megapixels that versus 12.1 megapixel this. I mean, there are camera phones that have "10 megapixels" on them now, but do you really think a photo from a 10 megapixel camera phone will look near as good from a 6 megapixel dSLR? I doubt it (think back to the sensor size difference we just talked about). Do more megapixels mean better photos? Not necessarily better photos, but more megapixels with a similar sensor will give you more pixels to work with, meaning you can achieve higher detail than with a camera with fewer megapixels. Is it the be-all and end-all of your dSLR shopping experience? No. Are more better? Think about it in terms of horsepower for you car. Do you really need a 435-horsepower engine? Probably not, but it sure would be fun! It really comes down to what you're going to do with your photographs after you take them. If you never print up your photos, and just post a bunch of photos up on the web, lower megapixels will be fine, if you're printing your photos (especially larger ones like 16"x20"), you'll need more megapixels so your photos don't look all "pixelly" when you enlarge them.
Print Sizes
There are literally hundreds of tables of "recommended print sizes" for each camera all over the internet - most with different recommendations. Instead of creating another one, I'm just going to urge you to use some common sense. Will you get a nice-looking 10"x14" print from a 2 megapixel camera? No. Do you need a 12 megapixel camera to post 640x480 images on a web site? Of course not. If you're going to print in sizes up to 16"x20", you'll probably need around an 8-megapixel dSLR. If the biggest you're going to go is 8"x10", 6 megapixels will be fine.
That's probably enough to digest for one week. Next week we'll take a look at the other parts to our new photography system, and which one may be right for you!
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